Therefore, 141 million lbs of filters (188 million liters) were dumped into the US environment in 2005

And how much does butt cleanup cost?

One campus (Penn State) took 2 weeks and $150,000 in labor costs to remove all butts from its campus

San Francisco City government is currently conducted a cost analysis to estimate what might be a reasonable cigarette butt waste fee, to be used to clean up butts from streets, tourist venues, and storm drains

More economic studies are need to obtain true costs data on cigarette butt litter; these would include direct costs of cleanup as well as indirect costs of lost environmental value

Have animals or humans been poisoned by cigarette butts?

There are anecdotal reports of butt consumption by dogs, fish, turtles, birds, and other marine life. More research is needed to assess the impact of butt consumption among wild animals.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a study of butt consumption by children in Rhode Island in 1996. One-third of the 146 children who consumed cigarette butts had signs and symptoms of nicotine poisoning. See: CDC. Ingestion of cigarettes and cigarette butts by children– Rhode Island, January 1994-July 1996. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1997;46(6):125-8

Theoretically, 200 cigarette butts would kill an adult human being if all were consumed.

Are cigarette butts toxic hazardous waste?

Studies are currently being done on fresh water and marine fish to determine toxicity of cigarette butt leachates (water contaminated with cigarette butts)